Karmic - no xorg.conf

[LeeM]

As part of an issue on screen resolution in Karmic, I noticed that my recent install of it had no xorg.conf file in /etc/X11. Previous releases always had that file, where screen resolution, etc could be set. Should that file be there, or has something changed in Karmic?

Thanks!

[mac9416]

Hey, LeeM,

As a new feature in 9.10, xorg.conf is optional and not included by default. Apparently, xorg has become smart enough not to need it. However, you can create and use it in the same way as 9.04.
For details, check out the Wikipedia xorg.conf page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xorg.conf

Hope that clears things up!

[markbuntu]

The X consortium (the people who write and maintain X) has deprecated xorg.conf as automated functions have removed the need for it. Screen resolutions etc can now be set in user configuration applications like System/Preferences/Display in gnome and system settings in KDE4.

[dharmaturtle]

That's all well and good ... until the automatic systems don't work. I'm running Karmic under VirtualBox on a new Mac mini, and everything works well except that I can't get the native 1024 x 768 out of my oldish LCD Viewsonic VX500 monitor. The System -> Preferences -> Display says the monitor is unknown and only goes up to 800 x 600, making the screen impractical to use. (It also lists the refesh rate as 61 Hz! Huh?)

mac9416 links to a Wiki stub, which isn't much help. Nor do I feel qaulified to created a whole xorg.conf from scratch. All I want to do is run my monitor at its native resolution. And Viewsonic monitors are not exotic or anything. This seems like a reasonable request.

FWIW, this monitor worked properly under Karmic (even though still unrecognized) when I had it attached to an old PC (since recycled) running an old nVidia card. Don't know if VirtualBox or the Mac mini (nVidia GeForce 9400) is the culprit. Any thoughts?

[TimTang]

I haven't been able to use Ubuntu since they changed this. I used to have a PERFECT pixel per pixel setup at 1366x765. I located the screen so the lost 3 pixels were on the bottom of the screen; this way the task bar was completely hidden. It was a perfect setup but now that xorg doesn't work I've never been able to use ubuntu again (it's almost 1 year now). So they managed to IMPROVE me right out of using ubuntu. Way to go guys!

[jocko]

That's all well and good ... until the automatic systems don't work. I'm running Karmic under VirtualBox on a new Mac mini, and everything works well except that I can't get the native 1024 x 768 out of my oldish LCD Viewsonic VX500 monitor. The System -> Preferences -> Display says the monitor is unknown and only goes up to 800 x 600, making the screen impractical to use. (It also lists the refesh rate as 61 Hz! Huh?)

mac9416 links to a Wiki stub, which isn't much help. Nor do I feel qaulified to created a whole xorg.conf from scratch. All I want to do is run my monitor at its native resolution. And Viewsonic monitors are not exotic or anything. This seems like a reasonable request.

FWIW, this monitor worked properly under Karmic (even though still unrecognized) when I had it attached to an old PC (since recycled) running an old nVidia card. Don't know if VirtualBox or the Mac mini (nVidia GeForce 9400) is the culprit. Any thoughts?

A virtual machine will never see your real monitor, so this has nothing to do with the lack of a xorg.conf. But if you install the virtualbox guest additions you will be able to use whatever resolution you want...

[jocko]

I haven't been able to use Ubuntu since they changed this. I used to have a PERFECT pixel per pixel setup at 1366x765. I located the screen so the lost 3 pixels were on the bottom of the screen; this way the task bar was completely hidden. It was a perfect setup but now that xorg doesn't work I've never been able to use ubuntu again (it's almost 1 year now). So they managed to IMPROVE me right out of using ubuntu. Way to go guys!

xorg.conf still works. It's just not included by default, as everything should be set up automatically. If you need a xorg.conf, you can create one yourself.

[TimTang]

I had and still have the one that I meticulously tweaked over a period of weeks. When I try to use it now it has no effect what-so-ever; the automation takes over, and as you can guess, it automates it to the point of no longer working. How do you turn the automation off so your own xorg.conf is recognized? I've read posts after posts on various forums yet I was never able to get it to work again. Intrepid was the last time I used Ubuntu and even then the screen was never correct. Once I upgraded I was never able to use ubuntu again. I've since downloaded every release and I can't even install any more.

[pietjanjaap]

Translated from dutch(http://sites.google.com/site/computertip/geenbeeld)
Or use http://translate.google.com/

A xorg.conf hass priority above the new autodetection system.
This way you can make a xorg.conf file:
- start the computer in Recovery Mode
- choose: drop to root shell
- type: Xorg -configure
(watch uppercase X and the soace between Xorg en -configure)

Now your system will make a file: /root/xorg.conf.new
- do wat the terminal says. Do you see a gray grafical screen + mouse arrow, then it's good. Close with Ctrl-alt-backspace.

- type: reboot
- restart normaal.
- copy /root/xorg.conf.new in /etc/X11/xorg.conf
- restart the computer.

Now you can put extra settings in xorg.

[jocko]

I had and still have the one that I meticulously tweaked over a period of weeks. When I try to use it now it has no effect what-so-ever; the automation takes over, and as you can guess, it automates it to the point of no longer working. How do you turn the automation off so your own xorg.conf is recognized? I've read posts after posts on various forums yet I was never able to get it to work again. Intrepid was the last time I used Ubuntu and even then the screen was never correct. Once I upgraded I was never able to use ubuntu again. I've since downloaded every release and I can't even install any more.

Anything you put in xorg.conf will override the automatic settings.